Phantoms of the Rivers

Yeth Hounds

Location: Dartmoor (Devon) - General area of the River TavyType: ShuckDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: These variants of the shuck, complete with hunters on horseback, have been heard running in this area after dark. Part of the Tavy is also said to be haunted by the ghost of Sir John Fitz, whose body was found in the river.

Calling Stones

Location: Dartmoor (Devon) - Rowbrook, Broad Stones, River DartType: LegendDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: It is said that the Dart takes one life a year, by gently calling the victim's name until they fall into the waters and drown.

Warning the Radcliffes'

Location: Derwentwater (Cumbria) - Shores of the lakeType: Crisis ManifestationDate / Time: Prior to a family disasterFurther Comments: A tall figure draped in grey robes is supposed to manifest to warn the Radcliff family of any impending disaster.

Parcel Carrier

Location: Dixton (Gwent) - Lanes between Rectory and riverType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Weather dependent: Dark winter nightsFurther Comments: A homeless man drowned in the river, and now walks around his final route, tightly clutching an unknown package. One version of the story says the man now has the head of a rat. The village is also haunted by a white dog, often seen alongside a strange man.

Footsteps

Location: Dundee (Angus) - HMS UnicornType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Even though the ship never witnessed battle, there are stories of phantom footsteps being on board. The Paranormal Discovery team also report small objects have been thrown at investigators by unseen hands.

Charles Bonner

Location: Dundee (Angus) - The DiscoveryType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Twentieth centuryFurther Comments: Bonner fell to his death from the crow's nest when the ship was sailing on the other side of the world, though his presence is still felt on the deck where his body landed.

Crying Man

Location: E1 (Greater London) - Thames close to Carron Wharf (closed 1974)Type: Post-Mortem ManifestationDate / Time: Circa 1897Further Comments: After the discovery of a body in this section of river, for three consecutive nights two witnesses heard crying and could see a large man in the water, waving his arms before disappearing.

The Cries of Jews

Location: EC3 (Greater London) - Old London BridgeType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: This area of the river under the bridge is thought to be the location where dozens of Jews drowned in 1210, when a ship removing them from the country sank. Their screams and cries have been reported in the area.

Splash

Location: Edale (Derbyshire) - River NoeType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: The endlessly repeating sounds of a boy's scream, followed by dragging and ending in a splash, are all that remain as evidence of a murder which occurred by the river many years ago.

Spectral Group of Monks Crewing a Barge

Location: Ely (Cambridgeshire) - River Ouse towards ElyType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Weather Dependent: Misty eveningsFurther Comments: Chanting hymns, these ghosts are said to escort an open coffin containing a body of a woman as they head towards Ely. The body is that of Saint Withburga, taken from her grave at East Dereham by monks acting on the orders of the Abbot of Ely.

Shellycoat

Location: Ettrick Waters (Borders) - RiverType: FairyDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Shellycoat was the name given to a playful water spirit which dressed in a shell covered jacket. He normally carried out his antics while hiding in the river, trying to lure the gullible forever closer to the cold waters.

Sound of Silver

Location: Evesham (Hereford & Worcester) - RiverType: LegendDate / Time: 24 December (reoccurring)Further Comments: Hidden in the river when the local abbey was closed for business in 1539, the silver bells still sing their song around Christmas.

The Vikings are Coming

Location: Exeter (Devon) - River ExeType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A local legend has it that a ghostly Viking long ship complete with an angry fighter passes up the river.

Kitty Garthwaite

Location: Gillamoor (Yorkshire) - River DoveType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Kitty drowned herself after being jilted by her lover, having told him that she was pregnant. She now hates men to such a degree, that she has been seen naked, luring men into the water to kill them.

Poisoned Horses

Location: Great Ayton (Yorkshire) - Area near the riverType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: The sounds of poisoned horses neighing has been reported here - a story tells how thirty men and over a dozen horses died after drinking poisoned water from this river. The river itself is said to reflect those dead soldiers, if one examines it for long enough.

Maid of Rokeby

Location: Greta Bridge (Durham) - Waters where the two rivers meetType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: This entity, dressed in white flowing clothes, patrols the banks of the river after dusk. A monk is also reported to do the same, having taken in own life in the river many years previous.

Old Bailey

Location: Hesketh Bank (Lancashire) - Newearth Lane and the nearby riverbankType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1900s? Riverbank haunting said to be on a Friday night (reoccurring)Further Comments: Old Man Bailey was reported to be frequently heard cackling late at night, still looking for his son, Andrew Bailey, who locked him in a loft and left him there. In turn, Andrew is said to haunt the riverbank, scaring any young couples courting in the area.

Frail Shadowy Form of a Girl

Location: Horning (Norfolk) - Ferry InnType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1500s onwards, seen once every 20 years?Further Comments: Raped and murdered by a group of monks, the twenty five year old girl in the green dress has been observed gliding through the bar of the inn, disappearing into the river outside. She has also been seen along the riverbank close to the abbey.

Hoggett

Location: Langton (Yorkshire) - Hoggett's Hole, River SwaleType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A highwayman during his life, Hoggett drowned in this pool while running from the law. It is now said that his ghost ensures no one ever swims in it without drowning.

Lantern Man

Location: Lasswade (Lothian) - River EskType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: This figure reportedly walks alongside the river, his storm lamp swinging in the wind. One author named the figure as Thomas de Quincey

Figure in Black

Location: Leven (Yorkshire) - Unnamed brook in the areaType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Like other ghosts in this area, the ghostly figure in black is headless. The entity was seen squatting by the brook before reaching out and chasing the witness away.

Water Sprite

Location: Linlithgow (Lothian) - River running through areaType: FairyDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: This malicious little entity is reported to lure the unwary into the water to drown.

Ancient Galley

Location: Loch Fyne (Argyll and Bute) - Waters near InverarayType: Crisis ManifestationDate / Time: Appears to mark the death of a senior Campbell clan member, last seen 1913Further Comments: This large phantom ship appears in the Loch, though its route takes the vessel over land. Three crewmen are visible on the deck.

Rowing Boat

Location: Lough Derg (County Donegal) - Waters of the loughType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Late nineteenth centuryFurther Comments: A phantom rowing boat was said to haunt this body of water, although no crew could ever be seen within. It would be accompanied with music and voices.

Witches Death Cries

Location: Manningtree (Essex) - River StourType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1700s onwardsFurther Comments: The tortured screams of an alleged witch are said to be heard on the opposite shore; Matthew Hopkins being named as the interrogator.